Simon Catchpole, Senior Stage Manager at the Royal Opera House, and Robin Auld from The Backstage Centre in Thurrock, recently visited the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, where they delivered a two-week course to managers from the China theatre sector.

The course is part of an ongoing exchange programme with the NCPA, designed to strengthen international ties, further Britain’s international reputation in the arts and support the development of the NCPA.

‘I first visited the NCPA with Tony Hall in 2009,’ said Robin. ‘There has been an enormous increase in production activity since then. The expansion of the theatre sector in China means a great deal of training needs to be put in place and so the NCPA is very keen to develop the programme.’

The training focused on stage and production management, programming, budget and production schedules. Following the course in Beijing, the 25 Chinese delegates then spent a week in London visiting Royal Opera House departments in Covent Garden and Thurrock.

They received masterclasses from a wide variety of Royal Opera House staff, including Director of Opera Kasper Holten, and were shown what goes into preparing and delivering multi-company ballet and opera programmes.

‘The NCPA in Beijing only stage one show at a time, which gives them an enviable length of technical time on stage to build and rehearse,’ explains Robin. ‘As such, the concept of holding a number of productions in the building at the same time was something we were able to focus on.’

The delegates also spent two days at The Backstage Centre in Thurrock, where they had practical lighting sessions to learn the basics of design software and lighting control.

'There is an increasing emphasis on technical training in China,' continues Robin. 'Many of the delegates trained as actors, designers and musicians and so this was a great opportunity for them to work with technical equipment.'

The course culminated in a presentation of an imaginary production schedule across a two-year period leading up to an opening night.

‘The course was basically a three-year degree course condensed into three-weeks!’, says Robin. ‘It was a great success, and further deepens the relationship between the Royal Opera House and the NCPA in a market that is seeing rapid expansion.’

The partnership, which began in December 2012, is set to run until 2017 and will include a series of shared training programmes, education, community and regeneration projects and future co-productions.

Earlier this year, former Royal Ballet Principal Tamara Rojo visited China to create a new work with Chinese choreographer Fei Bo. Find out more about her visit.

Royal Ballet Principal Tamara Rojo recently visited China to create a new piece of work with choreographer Fei Bo. Tamara is one of a series of artists from different disciplines to appear in the CNN series Fusion Journeys. Other artists featured include opera singer Thomas Hampson, photographer Roger Moukarzel and fashion designer Trelise Cooper.

The piece created by Tamara and Fei Bo infused traditional ballet with kung fu and Chinese opera. Episode 1 was shown last night and you can watch clips from it now:

Of working with Fei Bo, Tamara commented:

The first thing I noticed about the Chinese ballet is that it is much more influenced by philosophy than physicality - there was a lot more emphasis on meaning.

These ideas are typically expressed with little gestures of the hand or head. Such movements might not be the most beautiful to my eye, but because they have a shared cultural meaning - a meaning that is understood by onlookers because it is part of their tradition - it's beautiful to them.

One of the main challenges I experienced out there was trying to understand this complicated and subtle language. While I could always admire Chinese and Asian dance from a distance, I felt that I could never really understand the depth of meaning - and everything that comes with it - until immersing myself in the culture first hand.

The two remaining films, which follow Tamara on her ‘Fusion Journey’, will air on Wednesday 11 April and Friday 13 April at 9pm BST on CNN International (available on Sky 506, Virgin Media 607, Freesat 207 & Tiscali 506).

The course has been designed for 15 production staff from both the NCPA and other major Chinese theatres who are looking to expand the skills of their staff. It covers the management of complex stage productions from the rehearsal room to the stage as well as management of touring productions.

At the announcement of the collaboration, Royal Opera House Chief Executive Tony Hall commented “Through joint projects such as this, the UK and China continue to show their commitment to nurturing the arts and creative industries that underpin them.”

The first course will take place in Beijing, beginning this month. This will be followed by a second in London in April. Further modules of specialist skills and training will be developed under the joint partnership.